Petition Background (Preamble):

Back in September of 2007, raw almonds available in the USA, Canada and Mexico, were declared to be no longer "truly raw" due to a mandate passed by the USDA, FDA and the California Almond Board, announcing that all almonds including organic almonds, must be pasteurized.

The problem is the law had been passed with little public input(if any) or notification whatsoever. In addition all pasteurized almonds available in the marketplace are still labeled as raw almonds. Can this be considered fraudulence or an out right lie? Are you willing to give up your food freedom choices?

The primary reasons for passing this law are two isolated outbreaks of salmonella, in conjunction with conventional almond farms a few years ago. To the best of our knowledge no salmonella outbreaks have EVER been associated with organic almonds.

Within the past 10 years tomatoes, spinach, green onions, peanuts, grapes, melons, lettuce, and sprouts have all been linked to salmonella outbreaks. Does that mean we should eliminate all fresh produce? Absolutely not!!!

Almonds, the heartbeat of all nuts, literally, have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease, a rich source of calcium, magnesium, vitamin E, protein, fiber and antioxidants to name a few. These amazing and life enhancing health benefits, will be devastatingly reduced if not completely eliminated in the pasteurization process. Three of the potential suggested methods of pasteurization are:

-Propylene oxide(PPO) fumigation(propylene oxide was also used as an insecticidal fumigant till 1988 when its registration was terminated. California prop.65 rates PPO as a carcinogen. Cited from www.mbow.org)

-High heat(which degrades the integrity of the nuts and enzyme structure).

-Steam pasteurization (will also further devalue the nutrients, enzyme activity and antioxidants.)

This is a call to all those who care about their health, we need to join forces by bringing this to the attention of everyone from the mass media to the common consumer before it goes any further than almonds! It is our basic right to choose unprocessed foods! We have created a petition that we will present to the California Almond Board, the FDA and the USDA. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION! E-mail us at this petition with any other questions, media relations, ideas or information you may have relevant to this cause.

SUCCESS UPDATE!!!!!

In addition to signing this petition PLEASE donate money NOW to the Cornucopia Institute who has had tremendous victories fighting this mandate in Federal court. The Cornucopia Institute has led the way in winning this fight and they have almost won, but they need more money to support lawyers fees. The possibility of this mandate being reversed is an absolute reality and is right around the corner. Please read about their progress and support them by going here http://www.cornucopia.org/almonds/

The Cornucopia Institute absolutely believes that they will win this case and this means a victory not just for raw almonds, but for health freedom in general! This is huge. Please help us make it happen!

PLEASE LINK THIS PETITION TO YOUR YOUR SITE AND YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES. See link at the bottom of the page.

WHEN YOU ADD YOUR SIGNATURE TO THE PETITION, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL SO WE CAN ALERT YOU WITH NEWS, UPDATES & FUND-RAISING STRATEGIES SO WE CAN OVERTURN THIS DECISION. THANKS

If you have questions about this petition or anything related to this mission, you can contact us at http://livingnutz.wordpress.com/

Petition:

We, the undersigned, agree that almond pasteurization is utterly unnecessary. Unpasteurized almonds(organic and conventional) should remain available in commerce.

We are requesting that all pasteurized almonds be labeled as such. Pasteurized almonds ARE NOT raw and we, the general public, deserve and insist upon a clear choice.

You may make a comment below. FB users may also 'Like' this petition by clicking on the 'Like' icon below. 'Liking' or commenting is NOT signing the petition. Yet 'Liking' does show extra support for this cause. So please 'Like'. But to sign the petition click here.